I’ve retired behind clouds; living to light your world
when the smoke of your travails giving witness
to the truth that cannot be found gathers itself
for a moment, eclipsing my gaze in the shape
of a white heart, void of color, even blackness;
for in the senselessness of humanity’s struggles
love must be found by one light, removed
from the source of burning hearts and instead
regaining the purity of celestial bodies, prayed
to for centuries, guided by their presence, linked
by our imagination, named for our Gods; promised
to us for the moment the light parts the curtain
of doubt and shines upon your gaze, smiling; not
at a doll, but a woman; not at an ornament, but
a mystery of misunderstanding, longing and hope
for her heart to be weighed down by the color
of love, no longer able to float amongst the clouds;
removing itself as the prism of my healing touch,
to await the return of a man’s naïve hopes in life,
lost for too long behind the clouds of his pain,
his losses, his betrayal, his cynicism of a pretty
face only interested in perpetuating itself in
the glory of its reflection and the madness
of his pursuit

There has never been a time
There has never been a moment
Everything you know and feel
Came from someone else’s torment

Until you felt your own

They taught you  to feel their own
It was everything they believed
Only a newborn baby
And yet it was you who was deceived

Because they did not know

They did not know you
But you drew their love near
You couldn’t speak of it
While they read rhyme mask fears

Fears that could only smile

The is no enhancement of consciousness
Without the removal of nails from your mind
The release of the self by empathy
Is a butterfly that no longer wears a sign

A sign that is not of its own making

Ripping off its eylids
No matter the sun
Killing the prince
For love is no Machiavellian

Cynicism is grief of a clever sort

No hallucination from mother’s breast
No sense of urgency for rejecting truth
Unaffected by life is an impossibility
Until foolishness becomes a strength of youth

Because foolishness is sincerity naked

Falling our entire life
But never released by gravity
A scream of expectation
The treachery is the lack of humanity

They talk freedom but who can live with it?

It’s in how I choose to walk
It’s when I decide to smile
A flower from stone
Indifference from style

Which is it anyway?

And if I try to soon be who I am
I wonder if everyone I knew would leave
What I was seemed to be something to love
But if they only knew how it is that I grieve

It was not how I wanted it to be

How can you smile so brightly
While life burns so unkindly
You hear music playing sweetly
While someone treats you cruelly
Inside the fire you didn’t start

How can life burden you so unfairly
While your heart loves unconditionally
All we see is the love you send freely
Who would make such a beauty
Live inside a fire she didn’t start?

I wonder if you will ever find
The feelings you once had
Your smile is all that is left
I would never know sadness
If I was always looking at you
Only you know what’s true

How can you live so calmly
Being treated so wrongly
No flower should be so lonely
Who could live their life so coldly
Feeding the fire you didn’t start?

Let me take you home
I only want to cool your mind
To believe in tomorrow
You have enough time
The way you look at me
You are so much more than sorrow

I never was a good old boy
But I have some friends who are
I never pretend to be something I’m not
But their voices echo next to mine

I think people misunderstand each other
The life they choose doesn’t mean yours is wrong
You can’t know what they are feeling
Or the way the past steered their mind

I can see why you live that way
It’s not me but maybe someday
I do what I have to do and that’s just fine
I can see why you live that way
But right now I have reasons for mine

I’ve looked the long way down a sendero
I like it better when it’s cold outside
The quiet of the distance comforts me
I wonder if it feels warmer inside a blind

I can imagine anything anyway because I do
Walking is the same thing if you take it slow
It’s hard to describe trying to warm your insides
And missing the memories you left behind

I can see why you live that way
It’s not me but maybe someday
I do what I have to do and that’s just fine
I can see why you live that way
But right now I gotta’ live like mine

You can change your life
You just have to begin
Today
Of course, it will take time
Do not dwell on failure
Or mediocrity
It's not a contest
Think instead of today
Then tomorrow
When it becomes today
Do not ask why there is dirt inside a coffee ***
Or how long the drought will last
Don't shout at a cactus because it's not a rose
These things do not matter
And they won't stop you if you will only begin
It is not a matter of comparison
For though what one man can do so can another
But to what degree
And under what condition?
It is only for you to choose to be who you can be
Not what they can be or were
For though we know who was once great
The also knew who was greater than them
And yet they continued on
For they had to live in that way
The way you wish to live
But you must have the courage to begin
To call yourself an artist
Or an athlete
Or a cook
Or a connoisseur
Or a lover of life
And you are
Because you have made that decision
So now go
And learn about your new life
Wake up thinking about it
From now on
But not talking about it
Not right away
Wait until you know you have the will to change your life
And you will know when you are involved
When you want to be a part of it everyday
When the challenge of it means something to you
When you no longer care about failure
But instead you care about creativity
And the love of your new life
And the love of being simple in your new life
Because it need not be sophisticated
Or complex
Or flashy
Or justified
Except to your own heart
For who you have become
Is who you were always meant to be

Where is the darkness?
Have you found it in the light?
Next to your sadness
Because of your children
Or the lover who rejected you
Or your job
Is that where the darkness is?
Or is it in your mind
Soiled
Fouled
Absent of light
Disgraced
A bottomless pit
But is it?
Is the absence of light
The same as blackness of skin?
Who said a word must define what you are?
Who said that what you are is that word?
The question is asked because you believe the world
You have judged yourself as they would judge you
Black is bad
White is good
But we know everything that is good can be scorned
And everything that is bad can be praised
And you have decided that what is black envelops your mind
Do you believe certain people do not love their children?
That they do not cry?
That they do not fear?
That they do not die?
Yet they walk with their head held high
Why can’t you?
You must find out who you are
You must find out what you know
You must know your consciousness
You must know what makes you aware of your existence
Then you will begin
For who knows of this existence other than the physical body
And your voice
It is your voice that is driven from within
Yet you speak with their words
Because you think with their thoughts
You must begin to think with your thoughts
You must ask them why they can be so easily swayed
You must ask them why they refuse to stand alone
You must ask them why they cannot be who they are
Do not let anyone take away from you that which was given to you
For they do not feel your existence like you do
Break every mirror
Ignore every flattery
Ignore every insult
Ignore everything that diminishes who you are
For who are they?
Who gave you life?
Not them
Who will be there when you die?
Not them
Who holds the key to heaven?
Not them
Who knows you?
Not them
But who hurts you?
Them
It is time to be what you cannot see but can only feel
Close your eyes
Are you not still alive in the blackness behind your eyes?
Who lives there?
Not them
Only you
But not in anger
But instead in calm realization
That is who you are
That is where you will begin

Your calling
Is not mine
What unseen force
Controls your mind?
Is it you
Or something else?
You live in certainty
But what if it’s false?
Whose will
Shall be done?
Yours?
Or the one?
From what revelation?
From what language?
From what prophet?
Can truth assuage
A free man?
Even if you are right
I cannot walk as you do
I am bathed in my own light
There are many paths to God
To each his own way
The glory is grace
And not how we obey
You cannot know
What I receive
You cannot know
What I believe
For in a quiet moment
Where my heart beats alone
The message is heard
And to it I will atone
My conscience speaks to me
There is no confusion
The insistence of a charlatan
Is an unwelcome intrusion
You have spoken
And I have heard
Depart from me now
You may leave the word
It will become part of me
To what end I do not know
I thank you for your concern
But now you must go

you like living close
to dangerous places
like my heart
but not your own
saying so doesn’t make it true
it just seems that way to me

i don’t mind standing close
to a heart that’s on fire
but i won’t do it
unless you’re willing
to burn for me too

you’re a desert looking for water
the last page looking for a new book
the ocean can’t be filled by the past
because it already is
the sea is as old as the sand
and as young as the rain
that’s the way we live
we are who we are
but inside is where we change

you’re looking for me
or something like that
you said so once
your voice felt so far away

i’m not just yesterday
i’m also the day after today
but not just another tomorrow
it’s up to you

forget the days we once knew
that’s where you find sorrow
i know how it feels
that’s the only thing i know to be true

To so many it is surreal and dream-like; say it out loud,
they nailed him to a cross; an overwhelming reality too
cruel to believe

Reminded of nothing but what passed their lips into
your ears, the inquisitors, blessed by a past regarded
as their own holy ground asked, “How many prophets
have you met?”

It was enough to know who Satan should truly fear;
those who would never cry, who would have no reaction
to anything except the atrocity of someone who knew
them well

They say walk a mile in another man’s shoes but why
must we walk so far; isn’t his breath alone enough to
know of the scars in his hands and feet?

It seems that life gives others too many chances; they
hurt so many others and expect to be forgiven; but I
have not witnessed their punishment; it is the pattern
sewn by my bitterness

Is it God’s plan to reveal how and when they will be
driven into the desert of lament and sorrow; or even
if he already has, with burning sands beneath their
unrepenting feet, is it any of my concern?

The clock will strike on his time; the test is not only
in bearing my own pain but also in my discomfort
with God’s random will; random to mankind, but
not to God; he chose the time for the storm to wash
away those who preach what they do not know

The one who stirs hate in my heart suffers more than
I will ever know; his conscience burns deep into the
heart I once believed failed him; and when he comes
to me to witness my refusals will he ask then if God
gave me the power to part the sea?

I was given a hammer and some nails; was it to build
a home or to **** a man? I was given a pile of stones;
was it to build a home or to judge another man?

What did God ask of me; tell me what he said for
the dream was such a nightmare that I awoke in
horror at the sight of such unworthiness

To lower your gaze and be the truth; the truth that
only humility knows, not to be hurt once again but
to show how forgiveness is greater than anything
you have been promised?

And as you walk in fear towards an image beyond a
cross you cannot believe is real, will the worthiness of
the forgiver be enough for you to know that the shoes
you wear are not strong enough to hold another man’s
suffering in its sole?

Guilt, sorrow or obligation are not
love or compatibility; a soul mate
isn't there just to make you happy;
these things cannot tell you where
your true self lies; it is only in the
courage to stand up for yourself
that you will learn to live as the
person you were meant to be

It is wrong to take the gifts of another
under false pretenses; the sooner
you know the better off you will be;
only true understanding opens the
door to your life; once you learn to
live alone, you can begin to share
your life; the decision to share your
life must be made from strength

The decisions of confusion will cause
endless turmoil; know who you are
and then you will know what you can
give; make your decisions knowing
your true self; shed the desires that
others have for your life; it may be
that their wishes come from their
weakness

Always remember the things you've
wanted to be and take them to heart;
that is who you are; find that person;
you are never to old; it is never too late;
find that person; it is inside you because
you remember all your dreams; it is
time to live; find that person, it is you

I walked so far
And who I was, I left behind
Then I found something new
And now that I’ve lived this life
The time has come to stop
The direction has become a circle

Is there a God in my midst
Is it what I have already met
Or what has already left?

Who could expect more
To walk inside a dream
And then another
To know what you want
To become the dream

But to wake up
Not wondering what you saw
Or if it made sense
But instead knowing
All the pieces were there
Is it time for a new dream
Or to try to live it after it is over?

Can I really cross the sea
When it won't let me be?
The revolution is the dream
But peace makes my soul free
I can't tell time anymore
What was so far has become today
The eagles I once saw
Are no longer leading the way
Hovering over the waters
The spirit still silently waits
The promise is still being kept
But this time it may be too late

What can be said
An entire religion has answered the question
It has been said
It has been lived
But I have not lived it
And I have not said it
What is left is gripped tightly
Held together by life
By responsibility
But is it unhealthy fight for every goal
Is it when it is not who you are anymore
When the challenge is not achievement
But instead sanity in the midst of someone else’s dream
A dream that is no longer worthy of your own
A dream from which you have awaken
A dream that cannot exist within your own

What is real is love
What is real is love
What is real is love

Where is the plan for this
Is it to walk the streets of a crowded city
To meet someone either as scared as you
Or someone who is not scared at all
Do you tell them who you are
What you have said
What has happened to you
But to which face in which you see do you speak
I could smile at buildings
And at a poor woman cleaning the building
Ask her how she feels
But what if she cries
Should I begin where her tears dry?
Should I begin where her problems lie?
Is it her problems that is love?

Where in the night is the woman who lives in another city
Where in the night is the woman who has heard me speak
Where in the night is the woman who loves but cannot trust

I made her that way

And now there is something else
Is it love?
Is it art?
Is it just to live
With memories
Or with hope?

I have to find a way
Find a way to be in my head with a new dream
But the last one was so perfect
And it ended the way it was written

Do not speak ill of me because I did not fall in love with you
Just because we touched

Your worth is not my approval
Your emotions are not my love
Your heart is not that weak

Do not speak ill of me because my life had already spoken
Before we ever met

My past is not who you are
My dreams are now my consciousness
My heart cannot live up to your fantasies

Do not speak ill of me because I was not jealous of another man
Even after you leave

We cannot be healthy without trust
We cannot be healthy without our own life
We cannot be healthy with an imprisoned heart

We all have our reasons
But I didn’t choose to love you
You knew how to reach me
When you did I knew I could be true

We each go our own way
It’s not the way I wanted it to end
Now I’m believing in miracles
And dreams about a long lost friend

I need something to believe
But not flying above clouds
Or something I can’t see
I know why I pray at night
It’s for a miracle baby
It’s about you coming back to me

You thought I didn’t really love you
But I could never explain
How life can keep people apart

We all think about tomorrow
I wonder who will be there
I know who I want it to be
But sometimes miracles don’t care

I need something to believe
But not flying above clouds
Or something I can’t see
I know why I pray at night
It’s for a miracle baby
It’s about you coming back to me

What the tears of a man say
Even though you saw it
You couldn't believe
He believes something different
But what he felt at that moment
Was alive inside the mother of a dead child

You don't like the answers
And you don't what to feel them either
Like a poor hungry child
Who is taught something different
Something that cannot be proven
Just like the things we believe

Maybe we should decide
In the moment we make love
Or when we have been pushed too far
Or have lost someone we love
Is that the moment to decide?
Or is it the moment we should ignore?

Would you say that it is fear
That makes you question their love
For their children or their race
What would you say that it is
That makes you fear for the freedom
That has already been taken from them?

Sometimes I think I lived better as a child
I knew how to live for the day
I wasn’t afraid to be the wild one
An angel’s wings swept my worries away

Hello girl with the tilt eyed black hat
I just wanted to know if you like me like that
I don’t want to put you on the spot
But I’ve sent enough hints for the other shoe to drop

You need to know me like I know myself
So unsure of how I can please you
But the face you see may seem too sure
Believe me my love only my doubts are true

This is no dream and the sounds I make are real
In between the times your heart I would steal
And now when caution is killing the one I own
I can only say loving you is not why I am alone

Live
right in front of
You
shu
du
ku
Like a 747 lifting the air beneath your body
volume
an ***** with one key that sounds like 88
though you didn't know anything about the count itself
It was the sense that everything was there
And you cried as if everyone
you
shu
du
ku
knew
had died
you started pointing at each echo
there
did you see it?
you exclaimed
exclaimed
to no one except those you wanted to join you
they would know
they saw it
Like
Youshuduku
That wasn't your name when you arrived
They found you anyway
You didn't know they were looking
it was an arrangement of your feelings
They weren't afraid of the new pattern
what did they have to lose?
It's not as if they considered losing at all
but what if they had?
you see
it doesn't really matter does it?
it's your party now anyway
whether you steal the *****
or the feeling in the air
or stick a brush into a goo of the red stickiness
do it
then trace the path all the way back on your face
don't bother to leave
the doors have no knobs
there is no need for a lock
you haven't decided to leave anyway
because your body is a new kind of a
a new kind of a
kind of a
of a
a
rhythm

She said, “Your confidence is too much for me
But it is the equal of my desire for you
She said, “I can’t see where I fit into your life”
Why is all or nothing all there is for you?
She said, “I can’t give away what is not whole”
But what we feel tonight is even stronger than you
She said, “You can’t give yourself to someone”
Will you pretend with him what I have with you?
She said, “I’d rather not start what we cannot finish”
So you’d rather wonder than know if I would love you?
She said, “Everything you say is only so you can walk away”
Why does fear make you want me to say I do before I know you?

I saw the borders, they were open
Open for the huddled masses
I saw the sunny rain, trying to help
If it’s still true, why do I smell burning ashes?

I’m beginning to grieve, is it a just life?
I want a heart full of gladness
Is there a way to know how,
Is it mixed with too much sadness?

I drew a face in the sand; it washed away
We were all young once,
We don’t need the ocean to remind us
The wistful world lives inside the conchs

I wonder who can make me see
I already know, a bridge crosses my mind
It wasn’t a trick or a politic
Her hand was outstretched to mine

I saw the borders, they're still open
The birds fly over, following the sun
And the poor are still walking
Away from the gloom, towards God’s son

My reaction at seeing you for the first time
was like blowing up a dam; the water pouring
out in a wave of destruction, quickly filling the
shallow channel that had been dug, not expecting
such a wonderous natural disaster

I knew I would lose part or all of you if I didn’t
dig deeper into the earth; bloodying my hands,
gasping for breath so as not to lose a moment
of your beauty or share it with another wanderer
waiting to swim upstream for your love

You allowed the force of your existence to crush
my life beyond all recognition while your worries
waited patiently, drifting slowly behind the deluge,
hoping not to be noticed while my senses exploded
into a thousand pieces

You denied me my breath, my sight, my thoughts,
my self-control; there was nothing I could do
except become the rapids themselves, no matter
the rocks or sudden current changes that made
my prior life no more than a tree torn from it's roots

now (i) look into his eyes; can he hear us
(i) have seen no visions; only a movie
no matter; it is enough for (my) soul to stir
the simmering *** is where the truth may be

where to start; humility has bound (my) veins
(i) read the words of a bitter man; justified
somehow (i) accepted responsibility for his trials
(i) confessed though (my) white skin never lied

(i’m) trying to decide how to describe (myself)
it’s better to sit in a shadowed corner of a room
you can never prove what you would have done
but he knows (my) fears; they ensured his doom

holy water washed his ribs clean
we have filled our cups yet it remains dry
we cannot believe he is risen nor our evil ways
so (i) listen to horn blasts from man; not the sky

Some things can't ever be replaced
A broken glass once held the water
But the water is still inside me
I’m just waiting for the spear to remind me

It’s not a bluff to get mad at somebody
They know how you felt
They may feel lucky to be alive still
As you showed them the strength of your will

What’s all this about hating a stranger
I need more than the gossip
If you loved me once I felt it
That’s the only way true anger will fit

But don’t get me wrong my friend
A bully doesn’t have to notice me
I can’t say God bless him
Even if God says ignore the victim

How can you ever feel lonely inside me
I know how to love you
But you have to let me hurt you too
The two sides of love is nothing new

I’m not walking the streets crying about it
But I did just one night
The glass broke while the water could only swear
That's when I noticed the cupboard was bare

Is it true that we cannot learn as we age
from the mistakes of our own lust?
No matter the hurt, we continue onward,
gazing upon life, yet not seeing our place;
only expecting to lead all whom we crushed

The pure spirit that we once were
has finally turned to dust;
before we search for ourselves, we cry
And though we are not insane,
we will soon be taught by those we trust

It  is because why we cry
that we lose our sense of touch
The world around us is for the taking, yet
we only know of our own pain; but who
will teach just enough instead of too much?

What shadows live in remorse except
that which we cast as the judge?
It is the pain we are born into we cast off,
but the receptacle is always another man
who must suffer a baby’s eternal grudge

pick your sinner baby
a bottle of wine
and a look in his eye
or somebody preaching
and taking
the book don't live in no mansion
least that's what he said
you know it's like that
people gotta' live
you gonna' judge
or you gonna give?

I am but a grain of sand
Trying to be the beach
I am but a falling leaf
Trying to be the season
I am but a blade of grass
Trying to be a meadow
I am but a drop of water
Trying to be the ocean
I am but a bird
Trying to be the wind
I am but a cloud
Trying to be the sky
I am but a rock
Trying to be a mountain
I am but a human being
Trying to be worthy of heaven

To see all of heaven in your hands
and feel the courage of the morning after
hold a newborn baby
and listen to a dying friend’s laughter

Whatever is thus, I am prepared for the inquisition of the soul
I never asked to be born, but I am responsible for my role
The spine of the divide was the shortest distance to the light
I always avoided the blood, but ate the body every night

What beat down upon every decision was the eye of my creator
While he lit temptations fire, I became it’s very nature
I once learned on bridges and dirt roads, then by love that died
Never once was a moment when I knew what was inside

To not forgive someone
to whom you owe so much;
is to accuse without depth
or the right to benefit by their touch

Whatever it became, I once only saw what required no belief
Then rivers without a head or feet, only direction but no relief
Then came with eyes closed, the life built around the mind
And what was my feeling of grace became something I could not find

I belong, though indulgence became empathy and recognition, a mystery
The story you thought was written without regret is forgotten history
To reach each other without shock or judgment is to know both ways
Up or down, left or right, man or woman, right or wrong, insult or praise

To watch the change in love
or the desire for loneliness instead of anger
is to hold a heart that you forgot
and a mind to whom you became a stranger

She can’t love like she did before
Something took that part of her away
All that’s left is barely alive, but
It's your heart that beats every day

You can’t get around it
That’s not how it’s gonna be
You said you could only love once
But I’m saying God will set you free

Don’t go where there’s no tomorrow
Don’t go there don’t go there
The sun will always wait for you
And I’m gonna’ be waiting too

There shouldn’t be anything
Between my heart and you
If there is I’ll on walk around it
And tell you what I know is true

I hope the roots aren’t too deep
You planted a tree without any shade
I know you’re worth saving sweet girl
The debt you owe's already been paid

Don’t go where there’s no tomorrow
Don’t go there don’t go there
The sun will always wait for you
And I’m gonna’ be waiting too

You know we want you back
Don’t go there my love
The love you left behind
Is only what sorrow's made of

It’s gonna’ take more than a man
To fill the hole inside your heart
I’ve been listening to you cry
I’m asking the Lord to let me try

Don’t go where there’s no tomorrow
Don’t go there don’t go there
The sun will always wait for you
And I’m gonna’ be waiting too

Why won't she
Why can't I
She won't just
It's only
It's never
She'll wait
If I could
Is it what I
If she would
I only need
But she might if
It has to be
What she will
Or else she
While I cry
Because I never
What she was

It is you I want to know

Silent belief, expunged pride, learning;
knowing of duty inside a prayer to what
guides your conscience towards understanding

Apart from convention and vicarious pleasure;
dogged in faith, quietly accepting of your
anonymity

Failing at what man would measure
to be worthy; excelling at making
children feel safe

Seeking the heart and not the law;
the empathetic moment before it happens
to you; the knowledge that each of us
has a story

Never breaching the peace,
making peace, instinctively; never
losing sight of what is right

Passing through this life, loving
what you live with; nature, laughter,
honesty

Accepting different paths because
of different beginnings, never too sure
but caring for another man’s silent
belief

It is you I want to know

I love how uncomplicated you can be
when you walk away from considering
what's in it for you; but it's not easy to
to live life day to day like that

The path is clear for you, even though
the emotional toll it takes is exhausting;
it's not that you are there for those who
cry; it's that you are the cry itself

You feel so connected to everyone yet
the loneliness behind the wheel on a
country road is a beautiful sunset that
can only try again the next day

But you allowed hatred to poison your
beautifully rippled pond; the birds all
flew away because you threw rocks at
the reflection of stormy skies

You became a mad mind full of care;
how can you find yourself again, we
want the flowers and the cool breeze
that you were so long ago

I want to complete you my love but you
cannot stop the caring you have for our
world; I love that about you but you chose
to light the wood underneath your feet

It seems I’m living a life of decision
It used to be so easy to make a choice
To feel desire was to know what to do
I never lost my confidence or my voice

I believed in who I was more than  I do now
It’s a funny thing when you know so much  more
But I only believed in what I wanted with you
And it was so clear that I knew what love was for

I’ve lived more than once
And I’ve seen the signs
I never want to have to say maybe next time
But if I do
Then I will be the first one there

I read once an old man’s virtue is only a loss of energy
But you know I know how it feels now to be left behind
And I want to believe that I love you enough to stay
The beauty of your eyes makes me hope you’re my kind

God tell me how to know
Tell me how to know my mind
To be so sure as I was long ago
To tell her she is who I was hoping to find

I’ve lived more than once
And I’ve seen the signs
I never want to have to say maybe next time
But if I do
Then I will be the first one there

Mental processes so deep, bathing
alone at the bottom of the ocean,
like a baby before his mother ruined
him; a book before it’s opened; right
yesterday, wrong today; fundamental,
primary, calm before a tragedy, simple
before complexity; knowing the first
step may be wrong in the pursuit of
intent, but living easy in the fragile
consequence of decision where
coherence need not beg permission
to venture forth into bemused oration,
the stimulation of provoking thought
and triumphant rejection of legalisms
cleverly stated to establish the guilt
of an innocent

Underneath the deluge of our impending
life our fears seek sanctuary within the
mind or is it a place to avoid leaving no
room for kindness which must take refuge;
we want the right to make a statement
without fear for do they have any concept
of our problems; but I do want to understand;
justice was always known but only as it
pertained to me; but though I thought
about transcending difficulties it was
something only about myself instead that
of others; I only wanted to live within the
justification of my happiness

If I were your lover could you learn from
me or live knowing that I disagreed with
you on something so vital to you; could
you believe that my silence does not
conspire against you but instead is my
journey towards sanity as I must work
things out without further intervention
by the interests of someone who may
or may not feel agreeable with the musty
smells of the books that line the walls
of my mind; could you allow me to
contend with the past even though
everyone else has decided to move
on with their lives?

Are you the type who would follow
the law no matter how far it may
stretch your heart; but if allowed to
make your statement would you know
why you uphold what corrupt men
decided was just; I wonder if the ground
upon which you walk is worthy of my
worship when it is not the ground upon
which I lay but instead upon your good
graces that I must beg, otherwise I might
change my mind about what is just and
what is merely expedient

To be responsible for your actions
without regard to ambition or wealth;
you may choose the direction; you may
change the direction; it is your choice
alone; or you may delude yourself of
what is right in the name of your own
greatness; that anonymity and a humble
life is somehow the same as prison; what
we have done is to make someone feel
insignificant for honoring the most
significant virtues we all stand for,
truth and justice; yet it is true that truth
need no representation from a skilled
jurist as even a child can know what
his own eyes have witnessed; but
would it be altered by the times in
which he lived or would logic destroy
his small mind and bend it so that he
may be reduced to choosing between
nightfall or a shadow

Would it occur to you in time or is it
wise to learn from another to know
what is true, but if you wait until your
own goodness or awareness of another’s
pain reveals itself to you may be too late;
it may be that you cannot cross the river
so while you wait on the evil side you
must know how to recognize the good
that must live while it too waits for the
promised land

Do you know wrong to be wrong
without exoneration when compared
to greater wrongs; would you argue
against guilt if they spoke in favor of
that in which you believe; who would
be willing to tell the truth knowing their
life will be examined thoroughly; but
you must bring it forward, to endure
the indignity of a merciless soul search;
reason exists solely to defend against
depth that would bury the truth; what
way of life would ignore these things; it
is the life of fear that makes us choose
the wrong things in the hope that
good exists somewhere underneath
the crushing weight of the light to
which one day we will surface

She wondered if she ever made him feel like that
The way he was lost in concentration
Feeling every moment as if it were his true love
And maybe it was
Because she also knew the feeling
And as she watched his face
She could see nothing else mattered at that moment
It was because he believed in what he held in his hands
It would do whatever he asked
It would feel whatever he felt
And when his life was lost because he forgot how to dream
It would send him into the night where he would remember
If she only knew
She was the reason he played

Inherit the truth
  whatever it may be
For though men ****
  in the name that is he
It will never **** that is he
  for if he that is exists
Then the history of man's rise
  with clinched fists
Is irrelevant to he that is
  because he that is lives
In the believing heart
  that is and only gives
No matter the province of Caesar
  holding his grudge
On earth not in heaven
  where he that is may judge
Against those who reject
  instead of accept
The truth that was written
  by men who wept
But not in sorrow
  but instead with joy
For the truth as revealed
  was not a fire to destroy
But a fire burning within
  from breathing air whole
Instead of mother water
  for he was a fisher of souls
Yet you nibble at the lure
  of world *******
A tragic trail of human evil
  swallowing mountains
Peace, fishes and loaves
  children, animals and truth
Skin different than your own
  things taught to our youth
Until questions of conscience
  from the mouths who suffer
Swallowing instead swords
  than injure another
Judging only themselves
  knowing that to live right
No matter time passing
  is well pleased in his sight
For what treasury of satisfaction
  can be measured once
Or eternal like the stars
  under which a mariner hunts
For his own nature and image
  before his God
And why his fears of creation
  stain the holy sod
Yet the word lays before you
  pure as new
The sum of what God has placed
  inside his shoe
You see his strength of belief
  hidden inside his fear
As are yours of differences
  forever far and near
Yet what is the still night
  and the quiet moon
Is it not the honor of worship
  reserved for high noon
Along with the mid of night
  for it is he of the life he gave
And only you who obeys the soul
  that he would save
For in this life whether he is risen
  in books or by the spirit
It is not yours to bring death
  upon the path you did not inherit

Listening to light as it arrives from the deepest past,
   only to be stricken by the dark,
   as it passed the last mile
Seeing voices bound by etchings on a tombstone,
   only to be silenced by memories,
   that forgot how to smile
Touching wind storms demanding audience with me now,
   only to be shepherded into balloons,
   that can only float and beguile
Climbing waves of torrent driven by images of sparkling sands
   only to be reminded once again,
   of the futility of living in exile

Just a lot of talk
That’s all I can say
Fill the world up
Fill the air with my ways
Even if they didn’t ask for that from me

Do I have an alternative
Suburban myths say no
Great change means great suffering
A madman’s dream
He only needs a friend to know if it’s possible
Let’s meet at dawn for another try

A lock on the past
And her heart
But not upon mine
She allows me to be free
If then the chance remains
For my return to her side
But what I remember
Is a movie with no end
And a tragedy is how I must live
With love I cannot ignore
And a soul I cannot abandon

I wondered if I could do it
Nothing but water
Sickness from within
Unprepared for the unknown
Day after day
A test of my will
Trying to see something
Something I’ve never seen
Or anyone else

Still I have nightmares
Even as I stand in watch
Each swell sheaths my thoughts
Is it for what I have done
Or what I have seen?
Written in scrolls
Attached to trees of life
Sashed by what divides mind and flesh
Every entry penned is a ritual
Or was it just a moment recorded on my mind?

You thought you left yours behind
But I can see it on the horizon
You didn’t know where to go
So I went there for you
The tears behind my eyes wait
When I reach what you can no longer feel
I will give it a gentle whisper to come home

I wanted to say grace
Because you were going to be so good for me
But I decided to let it be
What I wanted wasn’t something that was holy

I never want to change you
You’re already the way I want you to be
You don’t trust love
So protect yourself but when it’s time be with me

It's there because we are
We just have to choose what's right
It might be for us
But it's always in God's sight

Every time I have a question
It’s only about you and nothing else
I already know what to do
But when am I’m coming off your shelf?

I want to make it seem right
Even if it’s not we can at least have one night
I don’t know why you hold back
When last time it was you who turned on the light

It's there because we are
We just have to choose what's right
It might be for us
But it's always in God's sight

Everything he loved was buried under the disbelieving mound
The grave held him up as he leaned on stiff grieving hands
The rain fell without remorse as his fingers sunk into the mud
It reminded of her once smiling toes disappearing into white sands

He knew his apprenticeship to life would run off with next sunrise
The mud crushed his temples until all that was left was guilt
He remembered that he was alive as everything became real
He found only emptiness in the very place their love once built

He couldn’t leave because the traces of his hands were washing away
It would be their last moment together though she had already left
He thought to reclaim the imprint that she left on sandy shores
But they were gone as muddy waters raised the tide to lay love to rest

Was your child born to hate mine?
We keep living in the past
Why plant it in a new garden
Will it be the same as the last?

Our mistakes must be paid
We have given them the bill
But let their hearts be debt-free
Because hatred can only ****

Don't run away from me
Don't assume I am the same
I want to know your heart
Will you only point at me in blame?

If you must tell me so
Then I will turn the other cheek
I am only human my friend
I am not the perfection you seek

I'm crossing an ocean of faith
Riding upon the secrets I hide from man
For the vessel is what grace is made of
It is not sea worthy
Nor navigable by sight
I am only drawn towards the other side
I watch wondering of the hold
Will it fill with water?
Will the holes in my spoken words
Reveal themselves to me once again
And though the mariner knows my haste
The waterline draws near
But I see the shoreline before me
Will forgiveness reach for my bow too late?
Will unworthiness drop its anchor too soon?
Spare me this quest
Relieve me of my fears
Will I sink
Or will I land leaving behind my confessions
For they are of no use to me now
You are not moved
And God already knew

They built beautiful buildings
and buried their dead in an abbey
that even bombs graced as they
exploded where the grass now grows

But the land is as old as where you stand
And what pain they felt is now a mystery
Do you hear the voices of the graves,
Or the glory of a shadow that stains their history?

Our own people
They live as do underground worms
Only a mile away
Past lights that confuses stops and turns

The poor, forgotten, live alone
They are not exotic enough for us to care
We know them all to well
There is no ancient writing to draw us near

Instead they live on cracked pavement
On ground that will be holy a century from now
Because then the history of our descendants will matter
But today we smile while they wipe their sweaty brow

It is not their beauty that matters
But instead the contemplation of a thousand dreams that never came true
And while you stand next to a mountain or a cathedral
They ask in a language you do not understand
What does it have to do with you?

Fairy tales aren’t just for children
I learned that the hard way
I opened the book again
Magic was no longer an illusion

Flowing ribbons and blue velvet
You returned to the time before we met
But you are always so real to me
I have to decide if I can take it this time

We are not here to start a war
There’s something only you can do
And I need to believe in that
I can make anything of you in my mind

There’s nothing for me to tell you
It’s become a way of seeing
Walk as if nobody is watching
But don’t trip over my dream

The misty river side leads me on
I can imagine without you there
That’s the scary part about lust
It talks to angels living inside of me

Who can get used to waking up
We think we do but it's not true
The more I fight it the more I feel it
Longing is stronger than being alone

We know who waits for us there
All those we knew, you took for yourself
They might not have had time for faith
Too young, too much for old time religion
You made us in seven, we raise in the eighth

They had to go their own way
Leaving this place, did they ask a favor?
Did they tell you about me?
Maybe that’s not how it is by your side
We knew them Lord, we hope they’re free

Take care of them Lord
We can’t imagine it
They didn’t ask for streets of gold
But we’d be willing to pave it

You took them from captivity
Living in the wild, our mothers suffer so
The path we take, only our hearts know
They didn’t have enough time Lord
Salvation collection, whose debt did they owe?

Take care of them Lord
They couldn’t imagine it
They didn’t ask for streets of gold
But we already paved it

Draw your red lips near my love
Paint a heart-shaped pool upon my chest
Place it above my heart
Fill it with rivers of mascara, until,
to where you lips touched my life it will crest;
neither below or above;
neither wanting or exceeding your will
It is to perfectly cleanse what you past was made of;
and I will wash away your memory of being apart;
from the love that once made you distressed;
Draw your red lips near, my love
Bring them close so you may hear
The beating heart that dark pools of pain cannot arrest
No, for it will no longer be full of fear;
but instead what once thickened the lashes
that no man could tame or ****;
will now become a new start,
for as I receive your love;
what you place upon me will lay it’s head to rest;
a wave softly glistening on sand after it crashes,
as can only faith that has become belief lies still

If you've fallen short
You are not alone
If you are dying
It is we who must atone
For the failure of our disapproval
Because it is man who casts the stone
And not our God
Who invites you home

I thought to write a fantasy
But I prefer reality
If you need a dream from me
Then I wonder why
We can play pretend
But what is left
Except the truth of a memory
The one that made you look to me
Hoping I knew something new to be
And if you cry
So do I my friend
But fantasy is only theft
We can never love reality
Until faith in what we cannot see
Remind us that even love becomes angry

don't yell at a dry river bed
because it didn't rain
don't yell at a cactus
because it's not a garden
don't yell at a thorn
because you picked a rose
don't yell at someone
because of your opinion

Here we start again
Looking into the same cup
Once so full
We assumed it was gone
But the dust said
Brush me off and start again

If there is one place to live
It would be a forest
On a night like this
Lost from the world
Shadows and moonlight
No day could be like this night

We’re about freedom
We aren’t thieves
Taking life from one another
We know who we are
The characters are the same
But the story changes

I don’t want to live like a shadow
Blinding darkness
We can be sad but not for long
A film noir
Black and white seems so real
But colors are what we feel

She likes to go out of her way now
But her heart is still a back-seat driver
She keeps saying I’m the one driving here
You be quiet, I’m the one who’ll steer

I can’t get her to take a rose from my hand
She used to love someone else without any flowers
Now I have to make a promise before a kiss
She’s afraid of the feeling she’s gonna’ miss

Takin’ the long way around love
Takin’ the long way around love
She’d rather climb a tree and pretend
Than stand on the ground and love again

I want to sit by a river with a friend
Forgetting about hard times
Thinking about what’s to come
We used to be excited about a mystery
Now we want to know how the story will end

Takin’ the long way around love
Takin’ the long way around love
She’d rather close the curtains at night
Than let me love her under the moonlight

Launched by strains of Auld Lang Syne
Leaving all that he had known
For love of far greater purpose
Glory! Ambition! The throne!

The code of morality
Death to our enemy
But don’t ask why
Life to our legacy
But don’t ask why

The flags wave highest
That most proudly sends their sons to war
Waving at the end of decency
Or is it the beginning that we fight for

For what is decency
Except to spare the life of the enemy
Yet that is not our charge
It is not to show mercy or remedy
Instead it is to march triumphantly
Never counting the dead
Only the medals pinned to a chest
Only the horrors lining his head

And though exhorted to turn the other cheek
Forgiveness is only a bent knee on a rug
He has received his pardon on this earth
For all that WILL be done before his grave is dug

But not for bats disrupted by gunfire
With shadows forming lattice lace upon rocks for the sacrament
But the sands once shifted by God’s breath
Is now ink made holy by the holder of the parchment

What coward would accept condemnation
Rather than death by enemy sword, sharpened
By the exceptionalism of old men
Whose achievements canonized but burdened
In their own minds
Forgetful as they grow into legend
Excepting of their own courage
In the stories they imagined

Giving white feathers but not for honor
To those who plant flowers in rifles
Flowers loved by Kings and Queens
Who smell them while reading lifeless bibles

Those loved by their mothers
Faceless as they march
The song of glory speaking of freedom
While they pass the closing doors of the arc
Their wives would rather weep tears of pride
Than of tears of shame
But what difference to his soul
Rising for what purpose or game?

To honor his family or his God?

Going down with the ship
Accepting the bullet from the front
Falling not upon his sword but upon that of the savage
For that is how to die like we want
There is no reason that must be validated
Victory or defeat
He gave his life without question
And now his name is on a street

But still, the sun rises again
Callously living without purpose
For no man can touch its soul
No sword can plunder its surface
No words can destroy its pride
No tragedy can darken its rays
No, it is the earth that must rise and set
Living waiting until the end of days

And the coward drew small comfort from this
Knowing nature is an idle spectator
As is a flame at the end of a spear
A fire that only kills and not worth dying for

But a spear in the hand of a subject
Serves only its King
While the flower he picks prepares to die
Dishonorable and in shame
For though they may were once beauty
It is only to mark the graves
And line the path of solemn remembrance
For those who hope that God saves